Two Soothing Hearts
by waterbirds
Summary: Roxas and Xion have the day to themselves, and decide to spend it with each other to relieve their past stress. Being back for only a week now, their friends view their scenario a little…differently. (Post Kingdom Hearts III)


The beams of the sun rained down on the two keen hearts making their way down Market Street, blue drops of their favorite ice cream marking the path beneath them. One of the two walked slightly behind her partner, her eyes focused on his movements.

"So, it's just us today?" the blonde-haired boy questioned, looking over to his side. He took note of the dazed face his friend had, and patiently watched her blinking eyes move from his ice cream up to his head.

"I think." she replied, scratching her head with her spare hand. "Axel is doing something with Isa. And everyone else is…um...".

"Working?" the boy finished for her, observing the final bite of her snack. She nodded her head in response, shivering as the ice cream made its way through her system. Seconds later her spare hand rushed above her squinted eyes, causing the boy to move closer to her.

"Xion?" he uttered, placing a hand on her shoulder. Xion's eyes raced back open to the warm feeling on her shoulder, her discomfort gone. "Brain freeze?".

"Brain freeze." she repeated with an awkward smile of embarrassment, turning the questioner's cheeks red. The two stood gazing deep into the blueness of each other's eyes, blood rushing out of their hearts like it did on the day of their return a week prior.

"So, Roxas...what do we do today?" Xion asked, breaking the humble silence. To Roxas, it was almost like she had a hint of fret in her voice, but glanced over it to think about her question.

Normally, they would follow along with Axel to do whatever it was he was doing, which was almost always going up to the clocktower.

But it was their first day alone, and they were completely aware of it.

"Uh…". Roxas remained quiet while he desperately tried to think of something to do. The curiosity of how Xion would react to any of them only made it more difficult to decide.

"We could—

"The Bistro." Roxas interrupted, suggesting the first thing that sounded reasonable. The girl paused at being cut off, sending guilt to the blonde.

"That sounds...nice." Xion responded much to Roxas's surprise. Her body turned in the direction of the restaurant, her appetite immediately returning.

"Are you still hungry?" she asked, getting a slow nod out of him. A smile escaped her as she grabbed his arm, properly moving herself next to him this time. "Well, let's go then.".

"Su-sure.".

And the red faces moved on.

* * *

From a distance, the Bistro looked surprisingly quiet, as only a few of the dozen tables were occupied. But as the two got closer and their eyes corrected themselves, Roxas and Xion felt their nerves creep up on them faster than they would have ever liked. They didn't know why the sight of all their working friends made them second guess their decision to eat there, or at least didn't want to admit why.

Nevertheless, the silence emitting from the two gave each other a feeling that nothing was wrong, so they continued.

Not long after their secret regrets, they watched a familiar brown-haired girl brighten up when she spotted them. Likewise, a smirk appeared on the boy next to her, and with it came a look of amusement under his spiky blonde hair. The happy looking duo quickly jumped up from the table and headed to the check-in podium, making Roxas's anticipation run high.

"Hey guys!" the girl greeted them, leaning over the podium.

"What's up you two?" the boy next to her questioned in a curious tone. "Visiting us for once?" he jokingly finished.

"Hi Olette." Xion greeted her recently acquainted friend back with a smile, and turned to the other spiky blonde-haired boy of the group. "Hayner.".

"Aww, are you still mad about the skateboard stunt?" Hayner teased, taking the smile off his visitor's face.

"No...but you could have hurt him!" Xion retorted, looking over to Roxas.

"It's fine Xion…" Roxas comforted her, then turned his attention towards Hayner. "We actually came here to eat.".

"Is Axel coming?" a curious Olette asked, knowing well that the two hadn't eaten at the Bistro before. Simultaneously, Roxas and Xion shook their heads sideways.

"So, it's just you two...?" Hayner followed up while raising an eyebrow.

"Yes.".

A brief silence took over Hayner and Olette as they turned their heads to each other, stared briefly into each other's eyes for conformation, then turned back to their two hungry friends.

"So...it's a date?!" Olette yelled in a tone of excitement, widening Xion and Roxas's eyes.

"What? It's just—" Roxas's stuttering voice fought back, but was cut off to Hayner's rough hand going over his mouth.

"We get it Roxas! In fact, this meal is on the house, courtesy of us!" Hayner told him, grabbing the menus. Xion opened her mouth to say anything, but felt Olette's soft arm around her shoulders.

"Just don't order anything _too_ expensive, kay'?" she told the red cheeked Xion, then guided her a table, while Hayner did the same with Roxas.

Before they knew it, Roxas and Xion were sitting across from each other waiting for their recommended food, the word 'date' blazing through their heads.

Being the always curious one of the group, Xion spoke her mind with little shame.

"Um...Is this a date?" she asked, desperate for an answer. Roxas looked at the girl that now was all over his memory rather than gone from it with a mixture of emotions, trying to figure out how to respond. "Because Axel told me you are supposed to look professional for dates, and I don't think I am." she finished before Roxas could respond.

"You look perfect.".

Roxas blinked twice at his own casual comment, but his embarrassment washed away at the sight of Xion's smile.

"Why were you talking about dates?" Roxas wondered, quickly moving on from his compliment.

"Umm…" Xion started, twiddling her fingers. "I wanted to know more about them.".

"Oh." Roxas commented lowly. The boy used the following silence to look around the Bistro, and was surprised to see Hayner by the check-in podium with a hand over his face. "What did he tell you about them?".

Xion's puzzled expression gave Roxas a feeling he was going into dangerous territory, more so he hoped he didn't bring anything bad to her mind.

"Well…" Xion started, carefully wording her words, "He told me they were for getting to know the other person better.".

"Then this certainly isn't a date!".

Xion felt her heart drop faster than ever before at Roxas's statement, her vision becoming impaired.

"Wh-what do you—

"Don't we already know each other like no one else does…?" Roxas stopped his stuttering friend.

"I—we do…" Xion replied, blinking. She couldn't explain how quickly her emotions were shifting around if she tried. "Just, our past is—"

"Here you go!" a voice interrupted her; plates of tasty-looking food being placed down onto the table. "Take all the time you need.".

"That was _really _fast." an astounded Roxas expressed, staring at the steaming sandwich on his plate. Xion's dish was a rather messy one, the British classic _Fish and Chips_, but she was too focused on their server.

"Thanks, Olette. Did you cook all this by yourself?" Xion questioned, not knowing a thing about her cooking skills.

"Well…" Olette paused, a grin coming to her face. "I helped.".

Roxas and Xion gave each other a suspicious glance, but thanked her once again before she hurried off, oddly apologizing for interrupting them on their 'date'.

"So, what were you saying?" Roxas asked Xion, not letting the topic go. Neither of them even bothered looking down at their plates.

"It's nothing.".

Roxas could tell by now that the look on her face was a sign that nothing was something, and it bothered him as much as the first time he saw that worried expression in their organization days.

Xion began taking small bites of her food, Roxas the same, the sound of munching accompanying their worrisome thoughts about each other.

"Xion...are you okay?".

Xion paused, holding her fork with a piece of food on it right in front of her open mouth. He didn't know _why_ he just spoke what he was thinking, but her frozen figure only made him more anxious.

"You seem a little…" Roxas began, trying to describe his thoughts. "You seem off today.".

"I'm worried.". The sentence flew out of Xion's mouth quick enough that Roxas had to think for a second to decipher it, and when he did his head went south.

"Why?" the boy questioned with his concern. Neither were bothering with the food in front of them.

"Roxas…" Xion mumbled, looking at the vase in the center of the table. It contained a white flower with a common feature as her. "What if it all happens again?".

"Xio—"

"What if I'm draining your energy again? What if we have to—"

"You're not." Roxas stopped her, knowing where she was leading. Xion didn't remove her glance from him, even with the subtle rubbing of her own eyes.

"It's all over Xion." Roxas comforted her from across the table.

"How do you know?" she questioned back, not taking the words too well. "What if to get Sora back...we have to disappear again?".

The paranoid Xion terrified Roxas with the thought of her disappearing _again_. He still hated himself for the first time. And his thoughts of Sora had been haunting him since day one of his disappearance...

The food sat still on the plates, the servers secretly watching in the distance. Their faces were not any better than their two customers.

"Xion…" Roxas said clearly, "I _refuse_ to let that happen again.". The image of the crystalized and hurt Xion took over his vision, and the fight before it plagued his mind.

"I just can't stop thinking about it." the honest Xion admitted, looking down again. "What if...I was never supposed to come back.".

A hand went over her resting palm, causing her to quickly look back up.

"I would be lost without you. I _**was**_ lost without you." Roxas told her, ignoring the tears near his eyes. "Xion, I don't want you to leave ever again…".

The emotional couple stayed quiet, embracing the feeling of each other's hands. It was a simple way of touching, but it made them feel like there was nothing to worry about.

"If anything were to come up again, we have each other. And the others too, of course." Roxas added.

All of a sudden, the feeling of Xion's palm disappeared. Her touch was quickly replaced by the shock of her chair moving back, the sight her body getting taller, and the unreadable look in her eyes.

Roxas copied her, standing up and carefully walking around the table of the lonely Bistro, placing himself right in front of the silent Xion.

"Xion...?" Roxas asked again, hoping he didn't say anything wrong. "Did I—

Roxas steadied himself as Xion pressed herself against him, wrapping her arms against his warmth and resting her head next to his shoulder.

Despite hugging each other only a handful of times, they always felt natural to both of them.

"Promise me you're alright." Roxas whispered, holding onto her tight.

"As long as I'm with you.".

Seconds of eternity passed between the two, but they didn't care if they were awkward.

They only thing they felt was that indescribable feeling that was only present when they were together. It was a weird feeling to them, but they didn't dare ask it to go away.

"Hey you two lovers!" A male voice barked at them in a joking manner. "Your food is getting cold.".

Xion and Roxas turned their heads at their friend Hayner and blinked at the unexpected flash of his phone.

"Now we just need a pic of them kissing to confirm it!" Olette said out loud, running up to Hayner. The same redness that was on their faces earlier returned to the now awkward standing 'lovers' after hearing both of them.

"Let's just…".

"Go back to eating?" Xion rapidly followed up.

"Yeah.".

Pulling her seat back for her, Roxas helped Xion sit back down, then went back over to his own. Small chunks of their food made its way down their systems, their heads in very different but similar thoughts.

"So...is this a date?". Roxas blinked at the desperate look of the repeated question, this time responding with a grin.

"Yes.".

* * *

Even though they were tired and stuffed, Roxas and Xion still found themselves atop their sanctuary at the end of the day, gazing into the distance of Twilight Town and beyond. It was way past the time they usually stayed up there, but time was irrelevant to the two lively souls today.

"Today was a lot of fun." Xion confessed, switching her view between Roxas and the town. She was amazed at how lit up the place looked at night, mostly because she was so used to looking towards the sky during the day. It was like a whole other view.

"It was." Roxas replied. "I don't know what I would have done without you.".

"Same." Xion told him the truth. They were inseparable since day one in the organization, and day one of their recent returns. It had only been a week after all, why would they be apart?

"Hey Xion." Roxas said, grabbing her attention once again from the view of the town. "I just want to make sure you're okay…after earlier".

Xion's head briefly faced down as if she had an ice cream stick, taking a moment to remember her fears.

"I'm better. At least for now" she admitted, pressing her empty hands together. "But...how are you?".

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked, taken aback by her response. "You aren't draining my energy.". A frown appeared on Xion's face after the quick dismissal of her question.

"There's something else on your mind Roxas.".

Roxas stayed silent.

"Is it about Sora?" Xion guessed, getting a small but subtle reaction from him. "I hope he's okay.".

"It's just...I wish there was something we could do to help bring him back." Roxas explained. He felt Xion gently place her head against him, making the pace of his heart faster.

"Just thinking about him is enough." Xion told the warm boy. She wouldn't wish anyone to be forgotten by everyone they knew on her worst enemy, and Roxas knew this well.

"Yeah, i'm sure Riku has it all under control." Roxas admitted. If he were being honest, Roxas's feelings towards Riku were not good ones given their history with each other and the girl sitting next to him, but despite that he respected Riku's friendship with Sora.

A deep yawn escaped the black-haired girl.

"Do you think we could go on another date tomorrow?". It took a moment for Roxas to process her question, mostly because of nerves.

"What kind of date?" he replied, still not knowing the full gist of dates like Xion did.

"A date where we're alone and happy." she responded, taking her head off of him for a second to look at his reaction.

"So...like right now?" Roxas wondered.

"Not quite.".

"What's missing…?" the boy questioned back, turning his head towards Xion's odd smile.

"This.".

In the blink of an eye, Xion's lips lightly pressed against the frozen Roxas's lips, her eyes closed while doing so. She was comforted when she felt his hand wrap around hers, the calm feeling of his hand bringing her joy.

The silent moment of a thousand words ended when she pulled back, her guilty smile still there.

"Thanks, Roxas, for today." Xion told him, standing up.

"Wh-where are you going?" Roxas asked, not believing what just happened.

"Going home, I need to be ready for tomorrow!" she teased, starting her walk.

"But we live at the same place!" Roxas cried, getting up. "Think about how worried Axel would be if we didn't show up together this late!".

"Guess you'll have to catch me then!" Xion joked, running down the stairs. Roxas, nearly tripping, quickly followed her trail.

"Xion!".

The lively couple happily made their way through Twilight Town, thinking only about their day and what could come in the future. Whether it be treasured moments like now, or problems of the past, they'd experience them like they always did.

Together.

* * *

A/N: Short and sweet. I hope you all enjoyed!

twitter: waterbirds_


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